WAR IN UKRAINE: December 18, 2022
Firefighters battling a blaze in Kryvij Rih after a Russian missile strike on Friday. Credit: Evgeni Maloletka
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 298
Heavy fighting continued around the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region on Saturday, Ukraine's general staff said. The areas has seen heavy clashes between Ukrainian and Russian troops for months, spearheaded by the Wagner Group.
Ukraine’s presidential office is criticizing FIFA for refusing to show a video message from President Volodymyr Zelensky in Qatar’s Lusail Stadium ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday. The video, which was recorded in English, is meant to be an “appeal for peace,” Ukraine’s presidential office said in a written statement to CNN on Saturday. “Qatar supported the President’s initiative, but FIFA blocked the initiative and will not allow the video address of the president to be shown before the final game,” the statement said.
Ukrainian military and political leaders have warned in a series of interviews and news conferences that Russia is preparing for a new ground offensive this winter, and would likely make another attempt to seize Kyiv. They did not cite specific intelligence, but their statements amounted to a coordinated pushback against talk from Moscow — and some officials in the countries backing Ukraine — about possible peace negotiations. Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told the Guardian newspaper that a new Russian offensive could come as soon as February. General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the country’s top military commander, said in an interview with the Economist that it “may take place in February, at best in March, and at worst at the end of January,” and could come from the east, north or south. “The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops,” General Zaluzhnyi said. “I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv.” He did not cite evidence for either assertion - NYT
CIA director Bill Burns told PBS's Judy Woodruff in an interview that the agency does not currently see the seriousness on the part of the Russians required to end the war. Meanwhile, the International Association of Football Federations (FIFA) has rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky's request to deliver a "message of peace" during the World Cup final in Qatar, CNN reported - Kyiv Independent
Russia says it will deploy musicians to the front lines of its war in Ukraine in a bid to boost morale. The defence ministry announced the formation of the "front-line creative brigade" this week, saying it would include both vocalists and musicians. Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited frontline troops in Ukraine, the government said. In a statement posted to Telegram, the defence ministry said Mr Shoigu "flew around the areas of deployment of troops and checked the advanced positions of Russian units in the zone of the special military operation" - BBC